CHRISTIAN LITERATURE
& LIVING

CONTENTS

• THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE BAPTISM OF JESUS by James W. Skeen
  What is special about the baptism of Jesus? Many people throughout the history of the world have been baptized. Before John the Baptist's ministry there was Jewish proselyte baptism and after John there was Christian baptism. Great men have been baptized: The Apostles, Augustine, John Wesley, D. L. Moody, and Charles Spurgeon to name a few. What is unique about Jesus' baptism that sets it apart? When Jesus submitted himself to John's baptism he was submitting himself to the plucked beard, the spital in the face, the public mocking, the naked shame, and the Divine wrath. Jesus was to be both the sacrificer and the sacrifice. The baptism of Jesus was his "first public step in the direction of bearing the sins of the people."
• LETTERS FROM HOME
  INTRODUCING A BOOK by Pastor Ted Haggard.
  Pastor Ted wrote these letters for the benefit of his teen-age children Christy (19 years old when this book was written published last year) and Marcus (17 years old). They have reached an age ready to go out into the world, "to pursue college, internships and job offers," and soon they "will be raising families of their own! As a parent, Ted felt that it is his duty prepare for these tasks. The letters are for all young people who will be "traveling on the road of life." The strength of this book lies in Pastor Ted's focusing on present-day events and people of prominence young people are familiar with, even as he discusses biblical events and characters to illustrate the principles that he elucidates for the benefit of his readers.
• THE LAW IS HOLY by Pastor Harold Brokke.
  All of us are happy that we are free from the condemnation of the police, but we are also happy that a police department is o n duty day and night. So it is with the law. Although the Christian is not under the law, he should be happy that the law remains and through grace he can live in harmony with the law. Isaiah declares that the advent of Christ would "magnify the law, and make it honorable" (Isa. 42:21). Paul said that by faith we "establish the law" (Rom. 3:31) and also that the "law is holy" (Rom. 7:12). We cannot understand salvation without understanding the law of God. If we cease to present the law as the divine requirement for human conduct and life, we cease to present the message of salvation through Jesus Christ as it should be presented. The law today has been made void by this statement to men: No one can keep the law, and no one ever will. Though this is true from the human side, it limits God's divine provision in Christ.
• MORAL ARGUMENT FOR GOD by Mike Leeming.
  Probably the clearest biblical basis for the moral argument for God is found in Paul's letter to the Romans, especially in the 2nd chapter. The Apostle Paul claims that God has written the law, His law, in the hearts of those who obey the law and yet were never given the law, as were the Jews. And "their sense of right and wrong" (verse 15) bears witness to that law. A common objection to this type of reasoning is that there are no moral standards that are absolute and universal because standards of morality-of rightness and wrongness-vary from one culture to another,⁶ and even from one age to another. Cultural Anthropologists have given evidence for the existence of universal standards of morality in observing, for example, that incest-"mating between parent and child and between brother and sister" - is condemned in all societies.
• A TESTIMONY TO THE LIGHT by Pastor John Meacham.
  God spoke to me from a fiery cloud and I saw the dazzling light of God's Glory, but my church does not want me to tell you about it. It had been an exciting couple of weeks. The Holy Spirit was moving in my efforts to follow God's call to reveal His Glory and to inspire other people to live like Christ. An artist had just finished painting the Clouds and the Dazzling Light (I Kings 8:10-11) that I saw in 1983 and I mailed the picture and the story of this experience to the 138 churches in our Presbytery. Boy, was I pumped. Whoa, this would be the chance I had waited for, God was calling me to go share this revelation with the churches, to inspire people to a higher level of involvement in the church and to nurture a deeper commitment to Christ.
• Introducing THE FASTING KEY , a book by Pastor Mark Nysewander.
  Pastor Mark Nysewander's goal in writing this book on fasting is to "discover this lost key to incredible kingdom of resources." He is one with Henry Gallus who wrote, "If the millions of Christians took fasting as seriously as they took praying and giving, in a matter of weeks a wave of righteousness would sweep over this world, which would be felt and recorded by revivals everywhere." This book, The Fasting Key: How You Can Unlock Doors to Spiritual Blessing, begins with a discussion on the three essential keys Jesus talks about in Matthew 6: prayer, giving, and fasting. Mark Nysewander says that fasting is a forgotten key, not a lost key, although it may appear to be a lost key because hardly anyone practices it, and most people would treat it to be a relic of the past.
• LEARNING FROM RENAISSANCE EDUCATION by James W. Skeen and Cynthia L. Skeen.
  Much of what is going on in education today revolves around preparing students to be workers in our capitalist society. While capitalism has many economic benefits (some economic dangers, as well), it has had unintended negative consequences. And one of these negative consequences is in the field of education. Because of an overemphasis on the economy and economic issues in America, education has been diverted, or hijacked, from its best application-to encourage people to be the best human beings they can possibly be (which does include pursuing a profession). Messner and Rosenfeld, in Crime and the American Dream, focus their attention on making a connection between America's economic focus and the higher levels of crime in America. The student would do well to make a careful study of the book of Proverbs, for in it one can learn much about wisdom and the right way to live. Through study of the book, one can realize the effects of a certain type of behavior without having to physically experience it.

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